


Clouds

by glitteringeva



Category: RWBY
Genre: AU, Birthday Present, Children, F/M, Fluff, One Shot, alternative universe, parenting AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-30
Updated: 2018-05-30
Packaged: 2019-05-15 20:49:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 830
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14797722
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/glitteringeva/pseuds/glitteringeva
Summary: Some angst. Some fluff. A red wagon. A black bird.





	Clouds

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Shipperoftrashyships](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shipperoftrashyships/gifts).



> It was Shipperoftrashyships' birthday like... months ago, so here is a late birthday present for her! Also thanks to Adox for being an amazing beta with this one.

“Don't touch anything.”

Mercury gave her a mischievous smirk. Mischievous but handsome. “So I'm gonna repair your arm by looking at it?”

“You know what I mean.”

He took a box and opened it before taking out a screwdriver that seemed to satisfy his needs enough to turn back to her prosthetic on the workbench. “Really wouldn't hurt if your dad stopped acting like I'm here to burn down his house.”

“You'll warm up to each other.” Yang watched him work on her prosthetic for a moment, his fingers moving more skilfully than she'd usually expect, but also gentle in a way she rather knew from more private moments. Tired circles drawn on her skin with eyes closed. “You think you can fix it?”

“Yeah, just give me a moment.”

She nodded, turning around again to distract herself why she was waiting. The worst part about losing her arm was that it was incredibly hard to work on a prosthetic like this with just one hand. Her eyes wandered over old tools, Ruby’s first bike and everything Taiyang used for the garden when she spotted something red. She stopped, then went down on her knees. There it was, a tiny red wagon hidden under the workbench Mercury was using to fix her prosthetic right now.

“What is it?”

She forced herself to look away. “What is what?”

“You look like you've seen a ghost.” He almost looked worried.

“Maybe it was your emo phase. Oh wait, that one never died.” She stepped behind him to wrap her arms around him and bury her face in the crook of his neck. Something about the way he smelled never failed to calm her down.

“I'm almost done.” His voice was softer all of a sudden. “Should work just fine now.”

“Thank you.” She tried to shake off the memories and kissed his neck before she let go of him. “You know, maybe Qrow wouldn’t look at you like he wants to punch your stupidly handsome face if you hadn’t made that joke about my bra in front of everyone.”

“It was hilarious. Your sister laughed.”

“Sometimes you can really tell you don’t have a dad.”

 

* * *

 

He pulled them all the way back in the wagon. Yang was shaking from trying not to sob, failing not to sob. She pulled Ruby closer, trying to comfort her or find comfort, she wasn’t sure.

When Qrow pulled them through the front door of their house, not caring about the dirty wagon staining the floor, and turned around she expected him to be mad, but his gaze was soft. He kneeled down to pull Ruby into his arms. “I think your dad wants to talk to you, firecracker.”

She had always seen her dad as the strongest man on earth, and seeing that strength break was the thing she hated most. She couldn’t stop crying when he hugged her, held her, and for the longest time that was everything there was, for the most fragile moment the illusion that nothing bad could ever happen in his arms.

“Why did you run away?” he asked eventually.

Yang had to swallow, but her voice was still shaking. “I was looking for mum.”

“Summer?”

“No.”

His sigh was long and sad. She wished she hadn’t said anything. He stroked some hair out of her face. “I’m so glad you got home safely,” he said. “Come, we’ll make you a hot chocolate.”

He let her sit on the kitchen counter like he normally wouldn’t. Qrow came back to pour himself a drink. When Yang turned around she saw a black bird sitting outside on the window shelf, oddly familiar. Qrow grunted and put the bottle back on its place on top of the fridge.

 

* * *

 

“Faster!”

“I can’t go faster!” Effie laughed and stopped, letting herself drop on the grass. She was out of breath, short strands of hair escaping her pony tail. “How about you run for yourself?”

“That’s not that much fun.” The waggon stopped and Rose climbed out to lie down next to Effie. “That cloud looks like a rabbit.” She pointed at the sky. “Can you see it?”

“It just looks like a cloud.” Her voice was still warm when she said it. “I’ve seen a raven again.”

“I think mummy likes ravens. She smiles when she sees them.”

“Mhm.” For a moment Effie just stared at the sky and Rose tried to study her expression so she could mimic it. Like she was thinking about something really smart and important. “Anyway, we should go and eat more cake,” Effie said eventually and sat up. “It’s granddad’s birthday after all.”

Yang was sitting on the porch, ruffling Rose’s hair when she sat down next to her. “I’m not sure if you should play with that old thing,” she said. “It’ll probably fall apart beneath you.”

“Well, it never brought bad luck.” Qrow smirked from the other end of the table. “Coffee’s out, who’s gonna go make more?”


End file.
